Update..

I made another japanese cheesecake to use up the last block of cream cheese in my fridge. This time, I made it in a 9-inch springform pan and used a waterbath. The cake didn’t crack as badly as my first attempt. However, I didn’t wrap my foil properly so the water got in. Now, I have a cheesecake with a soggy bottom Otherwise, all is perfect. Oh I used a food processor to blend the cream cheese mixture. It turned out perfectly smooth. For the recipe, click here.

Its a fluke!!!!!

This is probably the first (and hopefully last) recipe from Dorie’s Baking: From my home to yours which I am super disappointed with. My second attempt at it, and I hate to say it, but THIS RECIPE IS A FLUKE! In my first attempt, I tried to act smart and tweaked the recipe. Using less butter, more chocolate, a tablespoon more flour…. You get the idea. So the result was a very dense chocolate muffin that was inedible. This time round, I followed the recipe closely, and even used my precious block of Valrhona chocolate. The result was a hardly edible dense chocolate muffin with a slightly gooey centre. Though better than the first attempt, but still lousy. The 13 minute cooking time per the book is definitely too long. The cooked part of the cake is also too tough. Also, I only managed to make 4 servings instead of the 6 stated in the book. Perhaps using cake flour is better? Perhaps I should use another type of chocolate? PERHAPS A WHOLE NEW RECIPE??????? Forgive me for sounding angsty on the first day of Chinese New Year. I am sore over wasting a perfect block of Valrhona. Hmph. Here is the recipe anyway. Don’t be misled by the photo. It does not taste as good as it looks.

Gooey Chocolate Cake

(Baking: From my house to yours)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate,
4 ounces coarsely chopped,
1 ounce very finely chopped
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
6 tablespoons of sugar

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. butter (or spray – it’s easier) 6 cups of a regular-size  muffin pan, preferably a disposable aluminum foil pan, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Put the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

2.   Sift the flour, cocoa and salt together.

 

3.   Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, put the coarsely chopped chocolate and the butter in the bowl and stir occasionally over the simmering water just until they are melted – you don’t want them to get so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl from the pan of water.

 

4.   In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and yolk until homogenous. Add the sugar and whisk until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and, still using the whisk, stir (don’t beat) them into the eggs. Little by little, and using a light hand, stir in the melted chocolate and butter. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle the finely chopped chocolate over the batter.

 

5.   Bake the cakes for 13 minutes. Transfer them, still on the baking sheet, to a rack to cool for 3 minutes. (There is no way to test that these cakes are properly baked, because the inside remains liquid.)

 

6.   Line a cutting board with a silicone baking mat or parchment or wax paper, and, after the 3-minute rest, unmold the cakes onto the board. Use a wide metal spatula to lift the cakes onto dessert plates.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!! 恭喜发财！

Tomorrow would be Chinese New Year, one of the most important traditional holidays for us chinese. Often also known as Lunar New Year, we celebrate the festival with lots of good food. Today being Chinese New Year’s eve, families will gather for reunion dinner. In Singapore, we normally have steamboat, similar to an asian style fondue.  My aunt and uncle are back from Hong Kong, and I made them a pandan chiffon cake. It turned out pretty alright, though I would have much preferred using fresh coconut milk. You can find the recipe here. We are having a super long weekend here and I will only be starting work on Wednesday! Glad for this long rest. I don’t wanna go back to work!!!! To all Chinese peeps celebrating out there, wishing you all a very happy chinese new year! Gong Xi Fa Cai!! To all others who aren’t celebrating, have a great weekend!